Pokémon Trainer Ninten
by MobileSuitSonic
Summary: A meld of Pokémon Gen. II (with some elements of Gens, IV and up) with Mother/Earthbound Zero. Ninten Gold departs home to become a Pokémon trainer... and figure out the riddle of "God's Tail".
1. Chapter 1: Totodile

GOLD RESIDENCE

NEW BARK TOWN, JOHTO

Monday, September 1, 1989 PE

9:52 AM

Ninten Gold rolled out of bed, literally. The night before was pretty rough on him, but he was able to scrap together enough energy to get dressed.

He went downstairs to find his mother, Mrs. Gold, and two sisters finishing their breakfast; he was _very_ late for his.

"You're finally awake," his mother noted.

"Told you he stayed up late again," the older, ruddy-haired girl told her younger, bluish-haired twin.

"Minnie, please," Ninten said "I don't want to talk about it." The boy looked at the food before him: his grits and bacon had gotten cold and his Apple Swirls had gone soft. It was just what he got for staying up until two o'clock bingeing the latest Mario game.

"Prof. Elm was here a little while ago," his mother told the mostly-awake boy. "He said he had a favor to ask of you."

Ninten raised his head.

"You know where his lab is, right?" his mother asked. "It's right next to the house."

"So much for breakfast," said Ninten, getting up.

"Do you have everything you need before you go out? Here." Ninten's mother handed the boy a backpack.

Thanking her, Ninten bolted out the door.

Minnie shook her head at the whole thing.

ELM LAB

NEW BARK TOWN, JOHTO

Monday, September 1, 1989 PE

9:54 AM

Prof. Elm's lab wasn't a very big place, but it was adequate for Pokémon research.

Elm was a bespectacled man in his upper thirties with golden-brown hair that puffed out at the temple. It is said that the man was the world's foremost expert in the fields of Pokémon evolution and breeding. However, pressing matters were keeping him from doing an errand, so he sent for his neighbor Ninten.

As he took a sip off coffee, the boy stepped into the lab. "Ah, Ninten, you made it," he said.

"You needed a favor, professor?" asked Ninten.

"I need you to pick something up from an acquaintance's house," Elm explained. "He's Mr. Pokémon and lives on the other side of Cherrygrove."

"His… name is Mr. Pokémon?" Ninten asked. It sounded like something a four-year-old would come up with.

"It's just a nickname," Elm explained. "He keeps finding weird things and raves about his discoveries. I just got an e-mail from him; he says that this time it's real. Could you pick it up for me? I'd do it myself, but I'm currently three days deep into an eBook I'm writing on Evolution Stones."

Ninten nodded, determined to see it through. "Done like dinner!" He made for the door just like at his house a minute ago.

"WAIT!"

Ninten stopped and turned around. Elm had a stern look on his face.

"Don't tell me you were going to rush through Route 29 without a Pokémon!" Elm said.

Ninten stopped and realized what he almost did. If he ran into a wild Weedle and got a Poison Sting to the chest, he'd be in big trouble. His family already owned a pet Growlithe, Mick, but getting his mother and sisters to let him take him on the errand would be a no-go.

Elm showed the boy a pedestal with three Poké Balls on it; the balls had an insignia on the red part of each: a flame, a raindrop, and a leaf. "I have three Pokémon here," said the scientist. "Choose the one you want to take with you."

Ninten thought for a minute, but couldn't decide. He closed his eyes, reached out and grabbed the first ball he touched. With a loud pop, the ball opened and out came a little, blue reptile with red eyes. It latched onto Ninten's leg and nuzzled him.

"So you have chosen Totodile?" said Elm. "Good choice."

"I think he likes me."

"As you know," Elm explained, taking another sip of coffee "Pokémon are carried in Poké Balls these days. Before Poké Balls were invented, people used to walk with them. The good thing about Poké Balls is that you can carry many Pokémon with you, but from my research has found that walking with Pokémon may have some advantages. Can you walk around with your Totodile for a while? I want to see what effects it would have on its growth and evolution."

"Well, if it helps with your studies, I'll do it," said Ninten.

"Great," said Elm. He directed Ninten's attention to what looked like a small tanning bed in the corner of the room. "If your Pokémon gets hurt, you can use this machine to heal it. It's operated by the PC at the desk."

"Thanks, Prof. Elm," said Ninten "I'll be back soon!"

"Ninten," said an aide just a few yards from the door. The man approached the boy and said "Your Pokémon is very weak at this point. Take these." Ninten was given five small, violet-and-white spray bottles with the label "Potion" on each one. "Don't hesitate to use them."

With that, Ninten was off. Mr. Pokémon was waiting for him to the north of Cherrygrove City.

Little did he know, somebody was looking in on Professor Elm's lab. Somebody with ill intentions.

NINTEN'S TEAM AS OF THIS POINT:

Totodile (M): L5


	2. Chapter 2: Silver

MR. POKEMON'S HOUSE

ROUTE 30, JOHTO

Monday, September 1, 1989 PE

12:03 PM

The trek across Route 29 wasn't too eventful. Ninten only ran into a pair of Sentrets that Totodile KO'd for a little experience. When he got to Cherrygrove, he met a nice old man who showed him the basics of the places Ninten would have to be familiar with: the Pokémon Center, PokéMart, the usual; he even gave Ninten Running Shoes.

After picking the wrong house (a one owned by a nice lady and her daughter very close to town), Ninten went a little further northward to reach the second one. This misstep wouldn't be a total loss; that woman, Lindgrin, gave Ninten a box for storing apricorns. The fact that a Pokémon fight was blocking the way prevented him from advancing further north.

Inside the house, Ninten found two elderly men talking. Almost immediately, one of them—a stocky man with a mustache—came up to him. "You must be Ninten," he said "I was the one who sent that e-mail to Prof. Elm earlier."

So this is Mr. Pokémon? Ninten said to himself. Here I was expecting someone a lot wilder-looking.

The old man grabbed something from a shelf and brought it to Ninten. It was an egg with red and blue rounded rings on it. "This is what I want you to take to Prof. Elm for examination."

"An egg?" said Ninten.

"A friend of mine from Ecruteak gave it to me," Mr. Pokémon explained. "I bet you can't find this kind of egg in Johto. I thought Prof. Elm might be able to tell what this is. 'He's the best when it comes to the research of Pokémon evolution'... that's a quote from the famous Prof. Oak."

"And with that, I'm Prof. Oak, a Pokémon researcher!"

Ninten turned around to finally take note of the other gentleman in the house. He definitely was Prof. Oak himself! Ninten had seen his face in magazines and on TV, but meeting him in real life was a first!

"So you're Ninten?" Oak asked. "I was just visiting my friend, Mr. Pokémon. He told me you were running an errand for Prof. Elm, so I waited here."

Ninten noticed that Oak was studying his Totodile.

"A rare Pokémon?" the professor said. "You must be helping with Prof. Elm's research! I think I understand why Prof. Elm gave it to you. You will treat your Pokémon with love and care, it seems."

"I… want to do it the best I can," Ninten said, nonchalantly.

"How would you like to help me out?" Oak asked, reaching into his pocket. He gave Ninten a red device which the boy started to examine.

"What's this?" asked Ninten.

"The latest model of Pokédex: the HANDY808A," Oak explained "It's a high-tech Pokémon encyclopedia that records data on the ones you've seen or caught. I want to see you fill it up."

"It looks so cool!" Ninten beamed. "Thank you, Prof. Oak. I need to get back to New Bark and drop off the egg!"

The professor laughed. "And I need to hurry to Goldenrod for my usual radio show."

Before Ninten left, he exchanged phone numbers with Oak at the latter's behest. He already had Elm's.

"This was quite a day, Totodile," said Ninten. "Getting you, getting this errand done, and meeting Prof. Oak! I can't wait to show you to Mom and my sisters."

_BRI-I-ING! BRI-I-ING!_

Ninten whipped out his PokéGear and switched to the "Phone" function. Prof. Elm was calling. "Hello?"

_"H-hello? Ninten?_ _It's a disaster! Uh, um, it's just horrible! What should I do? Um, oh no…"_

"Professor! Calm down, tell me what's the matter" said Ninten.

_"Please get back here now!"_ That was all Elm said before hanging up.

"Come on, Totodile, Prof. Elm's in trouble!" Ninten stuffed the device back into his backpack and the trainer and his Pokémon dashed southward together.

CHERRYGROVE CITY, JOHTO

Monday, September 1, 1989 PE

12:19 PM

No sooner did Ninten and Totodile reach the eastern limit of Cherrygrove did the boy run smack into someone. Ninten got a good look at the guy: red mullet, black shirt, denim jeans.

"Watch where you're going!" the boy growled.

"I'm sorry," said Ninten "but I need to get home really soon."

"Ha!" the passerby scoffed. He looked at Totodile. "You got that Pokémon at the lab, I see. It's too good for a wimp like you!"

"W-What?" said Ninten in disbelief.

"Don't you get what I'm saying?" said the stranger "I've got one of my own, too!" He held up a Poké Ball that bore a leaf insignia on it. He threw it at the ground and out of it came a green quadruped with a large leaf on its head.

The Pokédex began to beep. Ninten whipped it out and a new file for that Pokémon came into being; it was blank except for the creature's name: "Chikorita".

_A battle,_ Ninten thought, _and me with only a pair of wild Pokémon encounters. I hope you can do this, Totodile._ "Let's take him down!"

What followed was an exchange of Tackles and Scratches, with one Growl on Chikorita's part; nothing impressive. Eventually, Totodile landed the final blow.

"Not bad for a weakling," the stranger remarked, as he called back the defeated Chikorita. "Wanna know who I am? I'm going to be the greatest Pokémon Trainer in the world!"

He stormed away, clearly angry and something fell out of his coat.

Ninten picked it up: it was his Trainer's Card. "Excuse me, Mr. Silver! You dropped this!"

The stranger froze for a second, darted back to Ninten, and snatched the card away. He made tracks into Cherrywood.

_ I'm getting awful vibes from him._ Ninten wasn't just saying that from the way that "Silver" guy acted, he could feel it.

Reaching into his backpack, he pulled out a Potion and sprayed down Totodile. He wasn't hurt too bad to visit a Pokemon Center yet. Besides, they needed to get to Prof. Elm.

NINTEN'S TEAM AS OF THIS POINT:

Totodile (M): L6


	3. Chapter 3: Kris

ELM LAB

NEW BARK TOWN, JOHTO

Monday, September 1, 1989 PE

1:14 PM

Ninten returned to Prof. Elm's Lab to find a policeman talking to the scientist. "I got here as fast as I could," the boy said, out of breath. "What happened?"

"Apparently, some kid stole Prof. Elm's last Pokémon," the cop told him. The cop smirked deviously, walked up to Ninten, and began to circle around the boy. "The criminal always returns to the scene of the crime. Maybe we can take you downtown for questioning!"

"But I didn't do it!" Ninten said defensively.

"A likely story," the overzealous officer said smugly. "I'll bet my mustache that it was you!"

"He's telling the truth!"

Ninten turned around to look for the source of his defense. His neighbor, a dark-haired girl of about his age, Kris Peeper came in. She had a Cyndaquil following her, just like Totodile. "Ninten didn't steal Prof. Elm's Pokémon," she told the cop "it was another boy. He had red hair and blue jeans…"

Ninten gasped. "Silver!"

"You know him?" asked the policeman.

"Not really," Ninten explained. "After Prof. Elm called me, I bumped into the guy on this side of Cherrygrove. He had a Chikorita with him. The ball it was in had a leaf on it just like the one of the ones Prof. Elm had!"

"It all happened right after Prof. Elm gave me Cyndaquil," Kris explained as she looked down at her Pokémon. "I was out on Route 29 when I caught him heading west."

"Aw, there goes my mustache!" the policeman whined. "Well, I'd better start investigating this kid." He shuffled out of the lab, his face pink with embarrassment.

"At least we know you're innocent, Ninten," Elm said, still nervous "But this is terrible!"

"Professor," Ninten told him "I finished your errand. Mr. Pokémon wants me to give you this egg." He presented the scientist with the object.

"This egg may be something I've never seen," said Elm. "Still, it's just an egg. Mr. Pokémon's always fascinated by eggs. We might as well find out what secret it holds. I'll keep it for a while so we can learn what we can about this."

"Oh! That reminds me," Ninten recalled, reaching into his pocket "I met Prof. Oak at Mr. Pokémon's house. He gave me this."

"A Pokédex? Th-that's incredible!" Elm said. Oak always had this uncanny ability to identify potential Trainers and he had done it again. "I knew you were a little different."

Kris looked at Totodile. "Your Pokémon really likes you, Ninten," she noted. "Why don't you take the Gym Challenge?"

"'Gym Challenge'?" asked Ninten.

"If you can beat all eight Gym Leaders in Johto, you can go to the Pokémon League and challenge the Champion," she explained. "You can start at Violet City. That's the closest gym."

Ninten thought back. The most he and Totodile had gone through thus far were a couple of wild Sentrets and Silver. Squaring off against another trainer was a daunting experience at first, but they managed to overcome it. It wasn't so bad. If they could come out on top after those battles, they could take on the League! "I can do it!"

"Ninten," said Elm "Challenging the gyms scattered around Johto will be a long journey. Before you leave, go see your mother."

* * *

GOLD RESIDENCE

NEW BARK TOWN, JOHTO

Tuesday, September 2, 1989 PE

8:17 AM

Ninten went back home with the intention of rolling out on the adventure first thing in the morning. Minnie and Mimmy loved Totodile and their mother agreed to save up a fraction of any prize money Ninten won in a Pokémon fight. The boy explained the errand that Prof. Elm sent him out on, Prof. Oak giving him the Pokédex, Silver and the robbery, everything; hopefully nothing would be as hectic in the rest of Johto.

With the coming of morning, Ninten sat up in bed. Totodile was still curled up at the foot of the bed. He got out of bed, without disturbing the Pokémon, and got dressed. "Hey, Totodile!" he called out "Time to hit the road!"

Naturally, the blue creature was pretty groggy.

"I'll give you a minute to wake up," he laughed.

Suddenly, Totodile was making a bunch of loud quacks behind Ninten's back. The boy looked around to see what was wrong.

On his bedside table, a weird face had appeared on his lamp. Before you could say "prime ribs", it soared straight at Totodile, knocking the Pokémon backwards into the closet!

* * *

NINTEN'S TEAM AS OF THIS POINT:

Totodile (M): L6


	4. Chapter 4: Poltergeist

GOLD RESIDENCE

NEW BARK TOWN, JOHTO

Tuesday, September 2, 1989 PE

8:19 AM

Totodile emerged from the attack with one of Ninten's dress shirts covering him. He shook it off and saw that his attacker was now _floating _in the air. At the same time, it felt like the house was about to shake apart. The electricity was surging and some of the smaller objects in the house were levitating as well.

Ninten couldn't believe any of this was going on. Wild Pokémon and other trainers were one thing, but who ever heard of fighting _lamps_? Needless to say, it would probably just give chase if they tried to run.

In fact, the porcelain lamp was about to attack again! "Totodile, SCRATCH!" the boy cried.

This time, Totodile was ready. His Scratch reduced the lamp to porcelain shards.

No sooner was it defeated did Ninten hear a scream from Minnie's room.

Getting there, Ninten found that Minnie had a possessed lamp problem of her own. "Just like before, Totodile! SCRATCH!"

That was two lamps busted.

"Ninten," said a worried Minnie "what is going on?"

"I don't know," Ninten admitted. "But—!"

"EEEEE!"

That scream was Mimmy's.

Ninten and Totodile dashed away. "Don't tell me it's another lamp…"

It wasn't. A china doll was chasing Mimmy around her bedroom. The moment it "saw" a new victim, Ninten jumped at the chance. Totodile's Scratch would prove to be critical, reducing the toy to pieces.

With the doll's destruction, whatever was hovering around gently came to rest.

* * *

"That was so scary, Ninten," said Mimmy, latching onto him. "Thank you."

"No, it was Totodile who did it," he admitted "but…" Ninten saw something in the head of the doll. It was a box of some sort, but he couldn't tell for sure.

Taking it to the bathroom, he dropped the head on the hard floor. Upon shattering, Ninten saw the little grayish-brown object inside. It had a lid, which the boy promptly opened.

_Plink, plink-plink, plink-plink._

A music box. It only played five notes and just stopped.

Perhaps it deteriorated?

Whatever the case, those notes would be burned into Ninten's mind.

The mess that the strange force caused wasn't that bad. Most of the bigger furniture didn't move by much, so cleaning up was relatively quick. Ninten got a little rest and Mimmy gave Totodile a little orange juice to help him recover.

Eventually, the phone in the kitchen began to ring. Ninten had to answer it.

_"Hello, Ninten? It's you father," _said the voice on the other end.

"Hey," said the boy, a little out of breath "we just finished cleaning up the house. For some reason a bunch of stuff was floating around and a lamp flew at me."

_"Sounds like a poltergeist."_

"Poltergeist?" said Ninten, confused.

_"It's a ghost that possesses stuff for fun," _the father explained. _"We aren't talking Ghost-type Pokémon, here."_

"But why would a ghost even come to New Bark Town?" Ninten asked.

_"Well, I'm not exactly sure how to explain this,"_ said the man _"but your great-grandfather George studied PSI."_

"PSI?" said Ninten, quizzically "Is that what Psychic-types use?"

_"Yes. Very few humans have PSI as well. However, George was thought to have unlocked its secrets."_

It was starting to make sense to Ninten: from that one fork he stared at and twisted when he was three to literally feeling Silver's bad aura the day before. Maybe Great-Grandpa George passed on these skills onto him?

_"There might be something in the basement to help," _said Dad _"but I left the basement key someplace and I can't remember exactly where."_

"I'll try to find it," said Ninten. "Maybe, when I leave New Bark later, it'll come in handy on the way to Indigo Plateau."

_"What do you mean?"_

"Prof. Elm gave me a Pokémon and I'm going to try to take on the League," Ninten explained.

_"That's great to know, son. Perhaps on your journey you will not only build up your skills as a trainer; maybe you will be able to explore the potential of your powers, too. Your powers are not something you should take lightly."_

"Thank you, Dad."

_"Go for it, Ninten!"_ the man cheered. _"But don't forget to check on your family while you're out. You can call me whenever you want. I love you, Bye."_

He hung up.

_The key to the basement_, Ninten thought. _Where is it?_

Soon, his thoughts were interrupted by Mimmy's giggling. She was chasing Totodile around.

The sight of the Water-type instantly made Ninten think of the last place you'd think about hiding a key. _Mick!_

* * *

Mick, Ninten's pet Growlithe, was curled up next to his little igloo in the backyard, sleeping.

Ninten knelt down and whistled. Mick came dashing up to him and started licking him in the face; naturally, he laughed. "I'm sorry I can't take you with us," said Ninten "but you have to stay with Mom."

The boy soon caught sight of the Growlithe's collar. It had a silver pet tag… and a brass key. Ninten knew that Mick had that on for as long as he could remember, but thought it was just a decoration until just a few minutes ago.

He unlatched it and brought it inside.

The basement was dark and creepy. He wouldn't be surprised if a Rattata randomly scurried across his path or if a Zubat had made its nest in there.

It didn't take long before the boy found an old book on a dusty shelf. It was the only one there.

Ninten brought it out of the basement, so he could look at it. Its cover was stained and dusty, the spine torn and curled, and the pages had gone yellow. Most of the pages, he couldn't even read: a bunch of obscure symbols, equations, and random words.

Finally, he got to one last page with stuff on it before he reached blank ones near the very back. This page was one Ninten could actually read, but the words still made little sense:

_WHERE IS GOD'S TAIL?_

_LOST ON […]_

_THE SHIP THAT […]_

_SAILS THE HEAVENS._

It gave Ninten the shivers. Age had taken its toll on the text. What it originally said, he couldn't know.

"Are you okay, son?" asked Mom.

Ninten looked down at Totodile. "I think it's time for us to go. C'mon Totodile."

As the boy walked toward the door, Minnie stopped him. "Before you go," she said "if your bag ever gets full, send the stuff you don't need to my PC. I'll hold onto them for you."

"Thank you," said Ninten. He handed Minnie the key to the basement. "If you would do me favor, can you give this key back to Mick?"

Minnie nodded.

With that, Ninten and Totodile were out of there.

What will await them in the rest of Johto?

Right now, their objective was Violet City.

* * *

NINTEN'S TEAM AS OF THIS POINT:

Totodile (M): L7


End file.
